Called?

This Sunday’s texts are linked together, at least somewhat, by three different stories about what it means to be called, or more properly, “called.” This is more than getting a phone call or a text to come over and hang out. The calls we looked at today are the calls God makes to people. There is a call to being a prophet, a call to being a fisher who catches people (whatever that might mean) and a call to being an apostle.

These are all interesting, at least one of them is kind of weird, but what might they have to do with us? I’m not opposed to the presentation of knowledge for its own sake but that kind of presentation is a lecture, not a sermon. What makes these calls applicable to us is the variance between them with the same outcome. Isaiah, Simon Peter and Paul were all called into a particular purpose in completely different ways. The implication I wanted to draw from this is we are the same.

I don’t mean we are each called to be a prophet or an apostle but rather, we are each called. We might wish we our call involved being knocked off a horse or a trip to heaven itself but our less-dramatic calls are no less authentic. God calls his people to him in as many ways as are needed to have the call heard, including calling us to a place of preparation for a further call.

Let me know what kind of calls you have received.

The sermon links are a little different this week as there were persistent HTTP errors using the usual upload method. I’m afraid you may have to download them rather than listen to them here, if that is your usual pattern.

“Called?” Knox Presbyterian (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)

“Called?” St. Mark’s Presbyterian (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)

Blessings,